Piper PA32 N4747H accident near Avalon, California

Probable cause

The pilot's delayed decision to conduct a go-around following an unstable landing approach and long landing.

NTSB analysis

A witness reported that the pilot's first landing attempt was too high, and the airplane went around. During the second landing attempt, the airplane was "still too high and came in too fast." The airplane touched down past the runway midpoint, and as the airplane neared the end of the runway, the witness heard the engine "rev up" and saw the airplane depart the runway in a "very nose high" pitch attitude. The airplane subsequently collided with terrain about 1,000 ft beyond the departure end of the runway and about 75 to 100 ft below the runway surface elevation. The pilot reported that he did not recall the events of the accident, but stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The accident is consistent with the pilot's delayed decision to conduct a go-around following an unstable approach and long landing, which resulted in the airplane having insufficient airspeed to climb after the attempted go-around and impact with terrain.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR18LA203 for the full record.